Crankypants

I'm annoyed for no real reason today. Part of it was my endless day of training and conference calls. I'm never in a good mood after a day like that.

Lunch was spinach, shrimp, tomato and fresh mozzarella w/balsamic.



I walked all the way home dragging a suitcase of clean laundry. I ate a hunk of my chive bread when I got home with unsalted butter.





Then I made a quick tomato basil sauce and some ravioli for dinner. It was perfect.

Ingredients


Before baking:




After:



My serving: (3 ravioli)





And some chocolate for dessert which lifted my mood a little bit.



So as not to bring the whole party down - I'll bid you adieu.

Tumultuous

Man, what a day yesterday. It started off sunny and sweet and ended with a precious 4 year old taking a tumble and a trip to the ER. (All's well thank goodness - but it was a very scary day for everyone - including Aunt Krissy).

After hearing that my brother and sister-in-law would be bringing my munchkins out to my parents' I boarded a train (after a 30 min walk/run 2+ mile workout)and I had some pretzels.





I can't seem to pass an Auntie Anne's without craving some. I ate 3 sticks on the train and then the other three later in the afternoon.

I read this book - which was good but had a *spoiler alert* kinda gruesome ending that I was not expecting at all. It's about Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress.



I had no idea about all that stuff. Interesting, but I'm now reading Julie & Julia which is much lighter.

Obviously.

And when I got there I had a hamburger - or more like 2 in 1! My dad made them for my nieces but they didn't want them. On a sandwich thin w/spinach.



Then my Madeleine and I made some cupcakes. She's the best baker's helper ever.





I sampled a lot of the icing. So incredibly sweet. This is why I love dark chocolate w/something salty. I'm not an all out sugary sweet person.

Dinner was delayed due to the aforementioned medical emergency but it was good once we finally sat down to eat. We ate outside since the weather is so nice these days. Almost fall like this week.



Some yummy whole grain bread. (and wine!)



Grilled chicken.



My plate: Caprese salad w/baslsamic, rice, chicken, grilled shrimp, bread and butter.



And then some of the sweetest roasted corn ever.

This morning I ate this on the train ride in...



Lunch will be some spinach salad with either leftover shrimp or chicken and some mozzarella and tomato.

I'm trying to decide if I want to go to the gym today or not. I have a long afternoon of conference calls - literally from 1-5 PM I'm booked - and I might just want to relax tonight and get up early and run.

We'll see.

Bread for Breakfast

So I think my bread looks better than it actually tastes. It doesn't taste bad at all but I think the "mix by hand" method didn't quite do enough. I felt like I was over working it and the inside is really doughy and chewy. I like bread that way but I think I might have missed the mark a little. The outside does look really yummy though.



For dinner I had a little bit of the leftover burrito bowl and some bread and butter.



And then a little more this morning with breakfast. The texture of the bread makes it kind of biscuit-y.



Nothing too exciting going on today. Plans include a trip to the gym and then a train ride out to Long Island. See you later!

Ready for a nap

I'm not a napper by design. In fact - actual napping for me is a sure sign I'm under the weather. But right now my eyes are heavy so I think I might give it a go.

I made the dough for my bread using Pastor Ryan's recipe.












My only worry is that I don't have a mixer so I did this by hand. We'll see if it works.

I had a little lunch too. One roasted chicken tender with an oz of extra sharp cheddar with BBQ sauce on a sandwich thin. I heated it up in the microwave for about 35 seconds.



And now time to nap and see what all this fuss is about.

World record

It's 2:30 and I've been back in my pajamas for an hour.

I woke up around 7 ish (so tired lately I wish I could sleep later) and had breakfast.




Then I walked to Zumba and my friend Cortney made it!! I've been so lonely taking class by myself all these months. It was great. I got out of class and then broke another world record eating this:



I was so hungry I couldn't wait. I did make an attempt. I ate the mustard-y half and then waited a bit for the other side. The pretzel guys on 6th Avenue are so sweet. This is the second one I've gone to lately who was just so cheerful and friendly. I washed it down with a Diet Coke. Not shabby for 2 bucks total.

Then I passed the Lindt store and bought these.



I've been looking all over for them. They were buy 4 get 1 free. I had to.

And they were so totally worth it. Quite possibly the best chocolate bar I've ever had. I ate two squares.



The woman who greeted me was trying to give out samples of White Coconut. No thank you. I am not a coconut fan to begin with and white chocolate is for sissies.

I ended up at this many miles:




Now I'm watching the Yanks trample the Sox. The White ones - not the Red ones. That's the only thing that would make this day better.

I'm going to straighten up around here and bake some bread in a bit. Stay tuned to see how that works out for me.

Take that Chipotle!

My dinner was so yummy. Not quite like take out - but it definitely did the trick.

I didn't measure at all so here's my best estimations of ingredients. Sorry!

1 package TJ frozen brown rice (I used a third in my bowl)cooked with 1 tbsp chopped scallions
1 package ground chicken (about 3/4 lb - I used about 1/4 for a serving)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped red bell pepper
1 tbsp chopped onion
1 jalepeno - chopped
1 can black beans - rinsed
1 can corn - drained
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1.5 tsp cayenne
2 tbsp TJ's Roasted Garlic Salsa
juice of 1 lime
S + P to taste

Garnish:
1 tbsp light sour cream
1 tsp grated extra sharp cheddar

I put the pot on medium heat. I started with the veggies.




Then browned the chicken. Then added the juice of one lime.



Then added the spices.




Let it simmer and then added the beans and salsa.





Mixed it up with the corn.





Prepared the rice.



Dinner is served!



So much leftover too.

That's all from here tonight. I'm off to Zumba in the morning so I'm going to try and get to bed early. Sweet dreams!

I caved.

After a loooong afternoon I'm home, in pj's and just had a half hour conversation with the most adorable 4 year old on the planet.

I ate the following for lunch:



Roasted chicken, roasted tomatoes, arugula, garlic hummus and Emmentaler on a sandwich thin.



With TJ's BBQ Popchips.

When I went upstairs to the cafe to get a Diet Coke I almost got fries. Seriously. It was touch and go.

And then I got home caved and made these.



Still better than buying the ones in the cafe.

I am also never wearing a pair of size 16 pants again. What is it? Everytime I think I've moved on I find myself putting on something that clearly does not fit me. My mom told me that she's going to start calling me out on it. She clearly needs to - because I looked ridiculous today. It didn't hit me until I got a good look at myself - but one of the office guys said something about the weather and "On days like today you just wear whatever to work."

This is the Office Services guy. Who wears a uniform.

Soooooo that's the impression I made today apparently.

Dinner will be Chipotle-esque. I'm going to start it in a bit. See you later.

Recap (and recovery)

I am not exactly sure how I manage to log onto my computer and post after I've been out in the evening. It's quite a phenomenon. I do it all the time!!

Anyway - last night was fun and (mostly) free!

I started at Naples in Grand Central for some wine and some FREE pizza! They always serve it at happy hour. This is how I afford to live and go out in NYC. ;)



Then we headed off to the subway to trek out to LIC. We went to an event at Studio Square.

Here's the spread:






My plate:



Puff pastry pizza, Peking duck, shrimp dumpling, lobster crabcake w/avocado

And a pumpkin seed crusted scallop - so good!



Our little corner:



The bar. They had red sangria on tap!



The band: This event was to showcase the space but also a bit of a wedding expo. Some of my friends are closer to getting married than me but it was a good event regardless. And the band was amazing. They played everything from Frank Sinatra to Beyonce equally well.



Dessert. This was for the group. The small chocolate square was the most amazing chocolate peanut butter thing ever. I ate that + a truffle and a bite of the chocolate covered cheesecake.



All and all it was a great night.

And I'm not even hung over today. BONUS!!

Breakfast today was a repeat from yesterday and no exercise so far. It's rainy and miserable today.

For some odd reason today I'm having a craving for Chipotle. I think I might make a homemade version of a burrito bowl tonight. We shall see.

Back in a bit!!